Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce The Big Apple, a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.

“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us”

Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), an American musician and member of the Grateful Dead band, supported efforts in 1988 to save the world’s rain forests. He said:

‘’We’ve never agreed on anything. But somebody needs to do something. It’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.’’

“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us” is a popular form of the quotation. Garcia’s quote is frequently used when people discuss their involvement in works to save the world.

Wikipedia: Jerry GarciaJerome John “Jerry” Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead, which came to prominence during the counterculture era. Though he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or “spokesman” of the group.

Google BooksNewsweek
Volume 112, Issues 19-26
1988
Pg. 17:
“Somebody needs to do something — it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.” Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, on his group’s support for efforts to save the world’s rain forests.

Orlando (FL) Sentinel
MAGPIE
February 15, 1989
Q. I heard that even the Grateful Dead has given a ‘’something-aid’’ concert. What for?
A. Tropical rain forests. Last fall the band held a concert in New York to benefit several groups fighting to preserve the world’s rain forests. After 20 years as laid-back non-activists, the grandfathers of acid rock have finally taken up a cause. ‘’We’ve never agreed on anything,’’ says guitarist Jerry Garcia. ‘’But somebody needs to do something. It’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.’’

Google Groups: alt.rock-n-roll
Who sings ‘Friday On My Mind’?
Johnathan Vail
11/26/90
(...)
“Somebody needs to do something--it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be *us*.” —Jerry Garcia

Google BooksCompanies with a Conscience:
Intimate Portraits of Twelve Firms that Make a Difference
By Mary Scott and Howard Rothman
Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. Group
1992
Pg. 137:
“Somebody needs to do something — it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.”

Google BooksThe Fifth and Far Finer than the First Four 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
By Robert Byrne
New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine
1993
Pg. ?:
Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.
Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead

Google Groups: rec.music.gdead
Mystery QUote
Peter Lipscomb
12/23/94
Fran Harris asked about the following quote attributed to Jerry Garcia
“Somebody has to do something, and its just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.”

I remember this line from a PBS broadcast called “The Grateful and the Dead”. The program profiled the Rex foundation, the Grateful Dead’s charity organization. What Jerry was referring to was the applicants who file requests for grants from Rex to continue their musical work.

The program covered many aspects of Rex work, but focused mostly on music. Some footage from Cal Expo 1993 Rex benefit performance was also included.

The most ‘pathetic’ artists featured were avant-garde composers in the UK who have been cut out of the national arts program because their music is not finding an audience. Luckily for them, Lesh has taken a shine to their efforts and they have stayed afloat(barely) with Rex money.

Eclectica
Aug/Sep 1998 • Miscellany
Michael Ruppert: An Interview
interview by Tom Dooley
(...)
Mike RUppert: My motive however, is not to get even. What I felt then and feel now more than ever, is that if these kinds of crimes can happen to me, they happen, de facto, to all of us as citizens. As Jim Garrison said, “If I don’t do this, who will?”
Eclectica: That makes me think of one of my favorite quotes, said by Jerry Garcia: “Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.”

Google BooksWords of Wisdom (Volume 7):
1001 Quotes & Quotations
By Dr Purushothaman
Kerala, India: Centre for Human Perfection
2014
Pg. 86:
Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.
Jerry Garcia

Twitter
sharie kaye
‏@sharie_kaye
“someone has to do something and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us” - Jerry Garcia pic.twitter.com/aeTWG7hWDJ
12:09 PM - 17 May 2014